If you're a Dreamweaver user and you're developing pages containing movies that have to play back in the versions of Internet Explorer that don't support plug-ins (see last week's news), you'll probably want to go to the Planet Jomo web site, where you can download an extension that'll help create the now necessary Object tags for QuickTime movies.
And, if you want more commentary on the whole mess (i.e. Microsoft removing support for plug-ins), read a Right On Mac column, "Restoring QuickTime functionality to Internet Explorer upgrades is not a 'fix'".
Mac users: Brennan Young has an article at WorkingMac.com on Scripting the QuickTime Player. It provides a really nice introduction to AppleScript for those who've never scripted before, all in the context of creating scripts for the highly scriptable QuickTime Player.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded an 2001 Primetime Emmy Engineering Award to Apple's FireWire technology--the technology that (in conjunction with QuickTime) has made making movies on our desktops so matter-of-fact. For more details, read an Apple 8/22 Press Release, "Apple FireWire Wins 2001 Primetime Emmy Engineering Award".
Minor updates on two music track composition tools:
Virtual Composer has been updated to version 2.8.9. See the VersionTracker Virtual Composer More Info page.
easy beat has been updated to version 1.3.1. See the VersionTracker More Info easy beat page.
Totally Hip has a new website, BlueAbuse, that's an interactive QuickTime showcase. You'll find a featured developer, site, and tutorial every week.
Lots of QuickTime developers have been beating their heads against the wall for the last few weeks upon news that QuickTime's not working in Windows Internet Explorer 6 as well as versions of Windows Internet Explorer 5.5 that have been "upgraded" with Microsoft's most recent service pack. The problem is that Microsoft pulled support for Netscape style plug-ins. Today Apple made available an ActiveX control that enables QuickTime playback; developers should change some of their html so that the the ActiveX control can be downloaded automatically for end-users that don't already have it. For a complete description of the problem and the solutions (both for end-users and developers), see Apple's QuickTime Active X Plugin page.
If you want additional information and commentary about this Internet Explore problem, check out the following:
Today Apple released Mac OS 9.2.1. This 80 megabyte includes QuickTime 5.0.2. Info and a download link are at VersionTracker's More Info page for Apple Mac OS.
There's a new web site, VP3.com, devoted specificically to On 2's VP3 and its open source efforts. (VP3 is a high-quality codec that's part of Apple's Component Download program, which means that if you compress with VP3, viewers with QuickTime 5 will be able to view your movie.) The latest version of VP3 for QuickTime (for both Mac and Windows) is available at the VP3 for QuickTime page.
An latimes.com article by Jim Heid, "QuickTime Cuts Chop in Video Stream" discusses the improved quality provided by QuickTime 5's "skip protection" feature.
If you're looking for an East coast location to get some training on streaming, check out the Ultimate Streaming Seminar page for information on a new two-day workshop that'll be held in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia on various dates this fall.
There's a 3.0.1 upgrade for LiveStage Professional 3, Totally Hip's tool for creating interactive QuickTime movies. You'll find links for the upgrade for both Mac and Windows on Totally Hip's Upgrades and Downloads page. If you're curious about what the upgrade includes, go to the VersionTracker More Info page for LiveStage Professional; note that LiveStage's controversial authentication has been removed. (For those who aren't familiar with LiveStage Pro, if you read the latest Reader Reviews on the VersionTracker page, keep in mind that most of the comments are from people who don't understand what the tool is for: creating highly interactive QuickTime movies. It's the only tool that can do this!)
Apple has included ZyGoVideo (a good codec for low bit-rate video) in its Component Download program. This means that you can now compress with ZyGoVideo (using either the free version or the $49 Pro version) and be assured that viewers with QuickTime 5 will be able to view your movie, since the codec will be automatically downloaded for them if they don't already have it. If you're interested in the codec, go to the ZyGoVideo web site.
Similarly, a component for IPIX is also included in the Component Download program so that QuickTime can play back IPIX immersive images. Apple's QuickTime Components page lists all the current components in the Component Download Program.
International versions of QT 5.0.2 are now available at the QuickTime Download page. These include UK English, Dutch, Chinese (but Mac-only), German, Italian, French, and Spanish,
A couple of new streamingmedia.com tutorials:
One that's for media authors and mostly covers working with QuickTime in Flash: Embedded Players, Skins and more Fun with QT and Flash
One that's more for webmasters interested in setting up a QuickTime streaming server:Darwin Streaming Server on Linux
A nice overview of QuickTime's interactive potential can be found in an LAFCPUG article, "A Moviemakers Guide to 'Wired' QuickTime". (LAFCPUG stands for Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group, and the article summary says that it's about "adding interactivity to your finished Final Cut Pro Movie", but what's in the article applies even if your movies aren't created with Final Cut Pro.)
A comparison of a large number of video codecs (including those for Windows Media and Real, as well as QuickTime) is still going on at the Streaming Video CODEC Shootout page. (Doesn't yet include Sorenson Video 3 Pro, however.)
QuickTime VR enthusiasts who couldn't make it to Macworld New York last month will want to check out a site that's got a good review of all things VR at the show: Jim's trip to MacWorld 2001 with an eye on the latest in VR.
An article at MacCentral Online, "Apple offers five free sessions from WWDC" reports that ADC (Apple Developer Connection) members can view a number of overview sessions from the WorldWide Developers Conference for free. One of these is the QuickTime Overview session, which peeks into the future of QuickTime. (You can become an ADC member for free; go to the ADC Member Site for more info.)
We've recently been made aware of a handy utility that helps create text tracks synchronized with your video or other QuickTime tracks. Check out the Macaw home page.
Ambrosia Software, has released Snapz Pro X, a Mac OS X version of its excellent screen capture utility. (We really could have used its image capture functions when we were working on the OS X screen shots in our QT 5 book. It's also great for capturing screen activity in a QuickTime movie.) You can read more about and download a demo at the Snapz Pro X page.
If you need to make QuickTime reference movies, you'll want to know about the following:
Retiarius Enterprises' QTRM Maker is essentially a user-friendly front-end to Peter Hoddie's XMLtoRefMovie. Get it at the QTRM Maker page.
Apple's MakeRefMovie utility has been upgraded. (Biggest change is that it allows you to designate movies specifically for playback with QuickTime 5...if you don't need to do this, the old version will still work for you.) Get it at the WebMaster Tools section of the QuickTime Tools and Utilities Page.
Miscellaneous software updates (thanks as usual to VersionTracker for alerting us to most of these):
A Final Cut Pro 2.0.2 updater is available. Go to article 75153 of the AppleCare Knowledge Base for info about what's fixed and/or to the download the software.
Version 2 of CatDV (QuickTime cataloguing software) has been released. Go to the CatDV page to find out more.
Version 1.3 of QiPo (which stands for "QuickTime In Preview Out") has been released. This is shareware that will take a movie and generate a web page showing a sequence of frames from the movie. Go to the QiPo site for more information and to download the software.
Virtual Composer 2.8.8, a QuickTime music composition program is available at the Virtual Composer page (where you can also get information and check out samples).
MegaSeg, the DJ music automation program based on QuickTime has been updated to to version 2.0.2. You can download a demo version at the MegaSeg download page.
A bit of controversy erupted over the last month or so concerning Totally Hip's authentication of LiveStage Pro via encrypted information sent over the net when the software starts. You can read all about it at at a MacInTouch Reader Report page on Totally Hip LiveStage Pro Copy Protection. Make sure to get to the statement by Totally Hip.
Hey, we've just passed the 6 year mark for publishing the Little QuickTime Page!